The Interstitial Environment of Sandy Beaches

Abstract

Abstract. The interstitial system of sandy beaches is lacunar and has its dimensions defined by the sand granulometry. It can be described by features such as pore size, porosity, permeability, and water content. The most important process occurring in this system, water filtration, is driven by inputs of freshwater from groundwater discharge, and inputs of seawater by tides, wave run‐up, and subtidal wave pumping. Reflective beaches have seawater input effected mainly by waves; they filter large water volumes with short residence times. Dissipative beaches display the opposite patterns, slowly filtering small volumes input by tides. Flow patterns and their effects on interstitial climate are described. The water table of the beach moves in response to groundwater discharge, tides, and waves and influences erosion/accretion processes on the beach face: a high water table promotes erosion. A series of moisture zones can be recognised from the dry surface sand at upper tide levels, to permanently saturated sand below the low tide water table, namely: a stratum of dry sand, a stratum of retention, a stratum of resurgence, and stratum of saturation. Interstitial chemistry is briefly described in terms of salinity changes, organic loads, oxygen content, and nutrient cycling. It is concluded that the interstitial environment of sandy beaches spans a continuum between physically and chemically controlled extremes: the former condition occurs on coarse sand reflective beaches, which experience low organic inputs and high filtration rates of large water volumes — resulting in powerful hydrodynamic forces; the latter occurs on dissipative beaches of fine sand, which are subject to high organic inputs and low filtration volumes — resulting in stagnation and steep vertical chemical gradients. Many intermediate situations occur and these are more favourable to interstitial life than either of the extremes.